You may be taking your supplements, eating whole food and going to the gym, but have you considered the amount of time your spend in nature as part of your health routine?
We are from nature, of nature and in tune with nature. But due to modern technology and advancements, we’re becoming more and more removed from our natural environment.
While this might sound a bit woo-woo, you’ll be surprised to read that there is plenty of research that shows us that very important to our health, in fact nature is medicine.
Here’s just a few examples.
This study showed that forest therapy, that is, walking in the forest, helped with relaxation in young adults, reducing their heart rate. There are quite a few studies like this one out there.
This study found that subjects who went on 2-3 day forest bathing trips had significant changes in their immune systems, and increases in natural killer cells for up to 30 days after the trip. So we can impact our immune systems simply by taking trips in nature. Amazing!
Even viewing nature can impact our health, as this study explores how when we view natural landscapes it has a positive impact on our health over viewing urban landscapes. This can even happen when viewing a photograph of natural landscapes.
Then of course we have the other impacts of getting out into nature – the increases in Vitamin D conversion in our skin which can prevent dozens of different diseases. And being out in nature also can give us a boost of clean air and oxygen that we may not get in our urban environments.
This totally makes sense when you think about it, our bodies are in tune with nature – our sleep/wake cycle is synched to sunrise and sunset, our menstrual cycles follow the cycles of the moon and our health also positively responds to earthing, or being in direct contact with the earth.
So the question is, what percentage of your time do you spend out in nature? Or even viewing nature? Consciously adding some ‘nature therapy’ into your week is a must if we are to remain calm, connected and thriving in our lives. Getting out to the beach, forest or a lake, or going for a walk in a park can help our health. We can also help to improve indoor air quality and give us some internal nature by placing many plants around our homes.
It would even seem that from the research a mural of natural landscapes can help to impact our health, so even setting your computer wallpaper to a beautiful forest or putting up a picture can be beneficial to helping us reconnect with nature, and ultimately with ourselves.
